Milk is pre-eminently the food for the infant. It is not merely a filtrate of some of the fluids of the body, for the proportions of its composition are different from that of any other secretion of the body. The mammary gland has the power of selecting the necessary food elements and of transforming them into milk. In fact, some eminent authorities maintain that milk is produced at the very expense of cell life itself; that the cell gradually becomes a round droplet, full of small milk globules; and finally a part of the cell, not the whole, actually disintegrates and dissolves, thus forming milk. Younger gland cells succeed the older, and they in turn pass through the same change.
The dietetic needs of each child must differ slightly from every other child, even as the child in his general outward appearance differs from all others. Therefore it must be evident that the milk nature has provided for the child in its own mother, is the only absolutely proper food for that child. It is certainly a part of the divine order that each mother should nourish her own child. Therefore, when a child is deprived of the benefit of this divine arrangement, and is turned over to the breast of another woman, or is fed upon artificial milk or upon cow’s milk, it is deprived of one of its divine rights. Milk made from another woman’s tissues, or from the tissues of a cow, can not exactly supply the needs of the child. Nothing but extract of the child’s own mother can precisely meet that child’s needs.
The saliva which the infant secretes during the first six or eight months of its existence, has no power whatever to transform starch into sugar. This is a clear suggestion that it is useless to try to feed a child before this age upon starchy foods; and even then for a number of months all the starch it receives should be so thoroughly toasted that the final act of transforming it into sugar can be done with the greatest ease.
MILK NOT THE ADULT’S IDEAL FOOD.
Because milk is the ideal food for the infant, it does not necessarily follow that it is such for the adult. Milk is received by the infant in small dribblets, thus preventing the formation of large curds in the stomach. The infant’s stomach is small, and almost set on end, being in reality only a slight enlargement of the alimentary canal. As the child grows older, the stomach gradually begins to recline more on its side, as it were, and enlarges; and, unfortunately, in the case of thousands of persons it sooner or later becomes permanently dilated. In this condition it is not nearly so well prepared to care for the large curds of milk, which must necessarily form from the ordinary manner of drinking milk. Nature does not allow the mother to continue to feed her child indefinitely upon milk; for in some instances the secretion of the lacteal gland ceases when the child is old enough to subsist upon other foods.
But instead of accepting this suggestion of nature as a wise one, the child is often compelled to accept the cow as its foster-mother, instead of feeding on luscious fruits, nuts, and grains.
SPIRITUAL LESSON FROM MILK, THE INFANT’S FOOD.
“For when for the time ye ought to be teachers, ye have need that one teach you again which be the first principles of the oracles of God; and are become such as have need of milk, and not of strong meat.” Heb. 5:12. Here Paul tells the Hebrews that they have been trying to take a spiritual diet that was too strong for them; he advises that they return to the milk of the word. Do not think for a moment that in feeding souls spiritual milk you are not giving them the gospel; for, as we have seen, milk contains everything that is needed for the upbuilding and nourishment of the infant: and so the sincere milk of the word—the first and simple truths of the gospel—have in them all that is required to nourish and strengthen the young Christian.
It is just as much a mistake to undertake to feed the newborn Christian upon the strong meat and deep truths of the word of God, as it would be to undertake to feed the infant six weeks old upon peas, beans, and lentils. Paul recognized this great truth when he wrote the following words: “And I, brethren, could not speak unto you as unto spiritual, but as unto carnal, even as unto babes in Christ.” 1 Cor. 3:1. Was not Paul engaged in the work of God?—Most certainly. And yet he says he had to speak to these Corinthian brethren as unto babes. There were, no doubt, many things he could have spoken, which he did not, because they were unable to digest them. If Paul, after all he had done for the Corinthians, could not take the responsibility of feeding them with strong meat, we should not be discouraged if the young convert does not immediately demonstrate his ability to digest and make use of the same kind of meat that we are prepared to handle, perhaps after years of Christian experience and familiarity with the things of God.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN COW’S MILK AND MOTHER’S MILK.
It is essential to have clearly defined in our minds the fact that there is a marked difference between the chemical composition of cow’s milk and that of mother’s milk. The widespread ignorance on this subject undoubtedly accounts for the fact that it is not regarded a serious calamity to deprive a child of its natural source of nourishment, and attempt to rear it upon cow’s milk, without even any effort to adapt or modify that milk to the child’s needs. Human milk contains about two per cent of proteids, while cow’s milk is practically twice as rich in this substance, having nearly four per cent. The quantity of fats is practically the same in both cases, or four per cent. Human milk contains about six per cent of sugar, which is slightly in excess of the amount found in cow’s milk, which is about five per cent.
HOW TO PREPARE COW’S MILK FOR THE INFANT-
One medical authority has said that in our large cities ninety-seven per cent of the cases of cholera infantum are found among bottle-fed infants. If we accept this alarming statement, it certainly is a matter of importance that the proper preparation of cow’s milk and the care of the bottle be clearly understood by every person who has to do with the artificial feeding of infants.
Feeding-bottles that have been connected with a considerable quantity of rubber tubing, even with the best care, are liable to be lurking places for germs, which will be swallowed with the milk, and thus be the cause of trouble in the child’s stomach. The rubber tips of many feeding-bottles often become a veritable death-trap on account of the large number of microbes that are likely to inhabit it. It is necessary to subject the bottle, rubber tip, and everything connected with it, to water at boiling temperature, several times a day, to be absolutely sure that the very act of feeding the infant is not in reality a process of destroying its life.
As cow’s milk contains double the amount of proteids found in human milk, it is necessary to dilute it in order to make this percentage right; and when this is done, the percentage of fat and sugar will necessarily be reduced below the proper amount. And so it becomes an extremely puzzling question how properly to adapt cow’s milk to the infant. The following valuable advice, from Dr. Kellogg, will give light upon this complicated question: “As regards cow’s milk, it is impossible to adapt it exactly to the condition of the young infant, for it was intended for the young calf, not for the young child. The best method is to combine sterilized cream and long-boiled barley water or oatmeal gruel (the oatmeal would be benefited by being browned in the oven before cooking), strained through a cloth. After this has been boiled six or seven hours, it may be mixed with cream in the proportion of one part of cream to three parts of the thin barley water.
“When malt grains can be obtained, a much better preparation can be made in this manner: Make a thick paste of wheat flour. Allow it to cool, until it is just possible to hold the finger in it. Then add a malt extract which is to be prepared by soaking a teacupful of malt grains in cold water for an hour. Turn off this cold water, and add it to the paste, and set the whole in a basin of boiling water. By the time the gruel is well heated, the starch will be well changed into dextrin, as is shown by the fact that it becomes almost as thin as water. This dextrinized gruel should then be boiled for ten minutes, so as to kill the germs which may have been introduced with the barley solution. Then add one part of cream to three parts of this gruel. This makes the very best possible preparation for a young child.”
During the heated season, in our large cities, nearly half the number of deaths reported to the board of health are of children, and three fourths of these are among those under one year of age; and in the majority of instances the immediate or remote cause of death was some form of stomach or bowel trouble. This being so, is it not worth the while to take the most painstaking care properly to prepare the infant’s food?
THE SINCERE MILK OF THE WORD.
“As newborn babes, desire the sincere [“unadulterated,” Rotherham] milk of the word, that ye may grow thereby.” 1 Peter 2:2. Milk, instead of being an ordinary secretion, is made by a process that seems to be at the expense of the cell life itself, or at the expense of the very tissues of the mother; hence, nursing her infant is, as it were, an actual giving of a part of herself to it. And so receiving693the sincere, unadulterated milk of the word is a process of taking into our moral being—into our very spiritual nature—a part of the Author of that word. It is the word of God, and in partaking of the sincere milk of that word we become “partakers of the divine nature,” of the very life of the Author and Spirit of the word. It is “the word of life,” the word “of eternal life,” even of the life of God. And to receive the sincere milk of the word is to receive that life.
The word is not only represented as the living water, which can cleanse the tissues of the soul, but it is also represented as the nourishing milk, which can feed and nourish the moral being. We are not merely to absorb an influence from the Bible, but we are to take the sincere milk—the living principles—of the word, and make it a part of ourselves. This word is actually to be taken into us, to become the structure of our characters, and the life of our life. Let us beware lest the sincere milk of the word be successfully adulterated and contaminated by the enemy, and thus be insufficient for our nourishment and sustenance.
Again: it is written, “Except ye become as little children, ye shall in no wise enter into the kingdom of heaven.” Spiritually, we must become as little children. They live entirely upon milk; they thrive upon it; and so we are to “desire the sincere milk of the word,” that we may “grow thereby.” Just as the infant must take the real life of the mother to make its life, so the newborn Christian must take the real life of the Word—of Christ; for he is the Word made flesh—to make his new life.
Let us be sure that we get milk that is sincere, unadulterated with error and with perversions of truth. We well know that milk can be so adulterated as to be of little value, so far as nourishment is concerned. And so it is with the present-day literature. Religious novels and literature of this class, which has become popular, can not be said to be the sincere milk of the word. These things fascinate the mind without nourishing it. They stimulate the emotions of the soul, but fail to supply spiritual nourishment.
Copyrighted, 1900, by David Paulson and W. S. Sadler.
THE TITHE IS THE LORD’S.
By Walter L. Black
WALTER L. BLACK. (Solomonville, Ariz.)
It is true that the Bible, and the Bible alone, is the religion of all true Protestants. God’s word is to them an end of all strife and argument. It is the supreme law of life in this world as well as in the world to come; and obedience to all its teaching is the passport to life eternal; for Jesus says: “He that rejecteth me, and receiveth not my words, hath one that judgeth him: the word that I have spoken, the same shall judge him in the last day.” John 12:48.
The words of the Old Testament as well as those of the New are the revelation of the Spirit of Christ, testifying through the prophets. Peter says: “The prophecy came not in old time by the will of man, but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” 2 Peter 1:21. And in 1 Peter 1:10, 11, he carries this thought further by saying that it was the Spirit of Christ that testified through the prophets. “Of which salvation the prophets, . . . searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” So those who study the Old Testament are not strangers to the teachings of the Spirit and truth of Christ. “Whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that we through patience and comfort of the Scriptures might have hope.” Rom. 15:4. Yes; the blessed teachings of the Spirit of Christ, written aforetime (or in old time), are to have something to do with the Christian’s hope; for “all scripture is given by inspiration of God, and is profitable for doctrine, for reproof, for correction, for instruction in righteousness.” Why?—“That the man of God may be perfect, thoroughly furnished unto all good works.” 2 Tim. 3:16, 17. Surely, those who will be perfect, and thoroughly furnished unto all good works, will not reject the teaching of Christ in the Old Testament any more than they will the teaching of Christ in the New.
The subject of tithing is one with which many of God’s children are unacquainted, although it is found in both the Old and the New Testament; and because of this lack of acquaintance, many have never enjoyed the blessings connected with this truth.
GOD’S OWNERSHIP.
There is not an earthly possession of any kind that does not come directly from the maker and upholder of all things. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, and cometh down from the Father of lights, with whom is no variableness, neither shadow of turning.” James 1:17. Have you life, health, strength, and even riches, and all the blessings that life can afford? They come from the Fountain of all blessings.
“The silver is mine, and the gold is mine, saith the Lord of hosts.” Haggai 2:8. “Every beast of the forest is mine, and the cattle upon a thousand hills. I know all the fowls of the mountains: and the wild beasts of the field are mine. If I were hungry, I would not tell thee: for the world is mine, and the fullness thereof.” Ps. 50:10–12. Indeed, the Lord is rich in every blessing, and to him every man, whether rich or poor, wicked or righteous, is indebted for the benefits of life.
How sad that man is so selfish that he scarcely looks to the Giver of all blessings. Thus he makes self the first object of love and adoration; and to correct this natural tendency, the Lord demands that we “seek first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness.” Matt. 6:33. In a Christian’s life God’s truth and plans are heeded first. This is to be so not only in our devotions, but in our daily labor and business affairs. The Lord calls upon us to honor him with our substance, and with the first fruits of all our increase (Prov. 3:9), and also with the first fruits of our labor.Ex. 23:16. To honor is to reverence or venerate; and thus in a Christian’s life God is worshiped in all that he does.
MAN’S STEWARDSHIP.
Since man does not really own his earthly possessions, the only capacity in which he holds property is as a steward, or servant. To this truth Jesus bore testimony when he said, “The kingdom of heaven is as a man traveling into a far country, who called his own servants, and delivered unto them his goods.” Indeed, we are indebted to our great Benefactor for all we possess. For all these blessings and privileges, the Lord claims only a tenth of our income. “All the tithe of the land, whether of the seed of the land, or of the fruit of the tree, is the Lord’s; it is holy unto the Lord. . . . And concerning the tithe of the herd, or of the flock, . . . the tenth shall be holy unto the Lord.” Lev. 27:30–32.
A steward is one who has charge of another’s property, and must give an account of all his dealings concerning these possessions. So we, as servants of the Lord, are to give an account of all our dealings with the property he has submitted to our care. The tenth, which the Lord requires, is a very small pittance compared with the many blessings received; and in these things God is testing his children.
What a close relation the subject of tithing establishes between God and his servants! By it Christ is brought into all our dealings with our fellow men. When we labor, or buy, or sell, we have a settlement to make with the great Jehovah. In many truths, Christ is brought very near the Christian; but there are none that bring him so near us in our business relations as does tithing. Who can afford to reject such a relation?—Surely, no Christian! “In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths,” is the blessed injunction. How many professed Christians are acknowledging Christ in their business life? How many think of Jesus when they buy or sell? It seems as if God has hedged the Christian in on every side; for he tells us how to have Christ all the way, even in every circumstance and act of life.
A TRULY CHRISTIAN UTTERANCE.
Present Truth.
What was indeed a most remarkable address was delivered at Hamburg to the General Protestant Missionary Association, by Prof. Adolf Harnack, of Berlin. Deprecating the idea of crusades in China, and protesting against the invoking of secular assistance by missionaries, he said:—
Protection should neither be asked by missionaries nor given to them in certain lands. It must be recognized that missionaries give up their rights as subjects of their own countries. The missionary ought not to go to regions where he feels he can not remain during times of persecution. If the course of political events makes the prosecution of missionary work impossible, the missionaries must withdraw, even if they lose all they had gained. State churches as such should never engage in missionary enterprise. This should be a private undertaking. Missions should leave no doubt in the mind of the Chinese that they are a purely spiritual power. They should never be recognized as identified with worldly power. They should make it clear that they do not represent the interests of Europeans or Americans, but the interests of the natives.
Sad to say, Professor Harnack stood alone in this view. The association passed a resolution in favor of the full protection of missionaries by the secular arm, and sent a telegram to the kaiser, asking his assistance. Thus the members deliberately classed themselves as emissaries of the state, and not messengers of God.
PENNIES, OR PROMISES.
“If I had heaps of yellow corn
And fields of waving wheat,
I’d quickly send a cargo where
They’ve not enough to eat:
I’d load a ship myself alone,
With grain of every kind,
And make my harvest offering
The best that I could find.
Or, if I had just money, why,
That, too, would do much good;
For it should go to India
To buy the children food.”
’Twas little Rob who said these words,
So generous and so bold;
What he would do when he was rich
He very often told;
But, oh, this same dear little boy,
When he had dimes to spend,
Bought something for himself alone,
Had none to give or lend.
But truly now, if Rob expects
To be a generous man,
He’d better practice when he’s small
By giving what he can.
— Children’s Missionary Friend.
A CALL TO THE TEMPERANCE WORK.
By Mrs. S. N. Haskell
MRS. S. N. HASKELL.
“In our work more attention should be given to the temperance reform. Every duty that calls for reform involves repentance, faith, and obedience. It means the uplifting of the soul to a new and nobler life. Thus every true reform has its place in the work of the Third Angel’s Message. Especially does the temperance reform demand our attention and support. We should call attention to this work, and make it a living issue. We should present to the people the principles of true temperance, and call for signers to the temperance pledge. In other churches there are Christians who are standing in defense of the principles of temperance. We should seek to come near to these workers, and make a way for them to stand shoulder to shoulder with us.”
This extract has been published twice in the columns of the REVIEW during the present year. It will bear reading every day. It comes to us as a bugle call to arouse the dormant energies and enlist them in this neglected branch of the work. We are called upon to make the temperance reform a living issue, to present the principles of true temperance, and call for signers to the temperance pledge. Years ago in almost every church of Seventh-day Adventists throughout the land there were live temperance meetings, in which the people were solicited to sign the temperance pledge. How many such meetings are held at the present day? Many of our people have never even heard of such a thing as a Seventh-day Adventist temperance pledge. This should not be.
The temperance reform has its place in the work of the Third Angel’s Message, and demands our attention and support. There are women all around us who are fighting the demon of drink with all their God-given powers, and God recognizes them, and blesses them in their work. They are doing a noble work, and we should seek to come near to them. Let them see that we appreciate the work they are doing. But their work is not our work. While we have the greatest sympathy for them in their work, yet it is just as different from the temperance reform in the Third Angel’s Message as the revival meetings of the Salvation Army and of churches around us are different from our revival meetings.
There are many earnest Christians in the nominal churches, and souls are converted under their labors; but we can not work shoulder to shoulder with them in their gospel work; for God has given us the light of the Third Angel’s Message. Neither can we work shoulder to shoulder with the world’s temperance workers in the temperance reform; but we can come near to these workers, “and make a way for them to stand shoulder to shoulder with us.” The temperance reform that has its place in the work of the Third Angel’s Message is just as different from the temperance work in the world around us as any other phase of our work is different from the work in the churches around us.
Let us look at the world for a moment. They drink intoxicating liquors, and use tea, coffee, spices, and meats. As in the days of Noah, the people are given to eating and drinking, and forget God. Years ago Christian men and women realized where the world was drifting, and organized the Good Templars Lodge and other temperance organizations, and through these societies a good work has been done. They presented a pledge to abstain from all alcoholic drinks; that was one step in the right direction, and God blessed them in it.
A few years later the Lord moved upon earnest Christian women to take more advanced steps in the temperance work. The Woman’s Christian Temperance Union was organized. This society has encircled the world by its efforts to save young men and women from the curse of drink. They go a step further than do other temperance societies, and present a pledge to abstain from all alcoholic drinks and from tobacco. But they indorse the use of tea, coffee, spices, and meats, the same as the other temperance societies of the world at large. The use of these articles is like so many rivulets, constantly feeding the great stream of intemperance. We might as well try to stop the Mississippi River by blocking up the mouth as to attempt to stop the tide of intemperance by simply urging the intemperate to give up the use of alcoholic drinks. Millions are constantly partaking of those things that create an appetite for liquors. We must dry up the rivulets that form the great river if we would check its destructive tide.
God has given to us a standard far above that taken by any temperance association that has ever been formed. The banner that we should hold up prohibits the use of alcohol, tobacco, tea, coffee, spices, and meats. The standard of temperance in the Third Angel’s Message contains pure food only. God would have us lift this standard high, and by friendly intercourse with those who are laboring earnestly around us make a way for them to stand shoulder to shoulder with us. But if we do nothing to lift up our standard, do not let them see that we have something far in advance of what they are advocating, can we expect them to come and stand shoulder to shoulder with us?
Years ago, when Seventh-day Adventists were living up to the light God had given them, there were three temperance pledges presented by our people. The first, or anti-whisky pledge, was that presented to those who knew little of our temperance principles; it was simply a pledge to abstain from alcohol, as follows:—
“I do hereby solemnly affirm that, with the help of God, I will totally abstain from the voluntary use, as a beverage, or in any equivalent manner, of all liquids or substances containing alcohol.”
The second, or the anti-rum and tobacco pledge, was a pledge presented to those who were more enlightened. It required abstinence from alcoholic drinks and tobacco, thus:—
“I do hereby solemnly affirm that, with the help of God, I will wholly abstain from the voluntary use of alcohol in any form, as a beverage, or in any equivalent manner, and from smoking, chewing, or snuffing tobacco, or using it in any other form, and from in any way encouraging the use of these poisons.”
The third, or teetotal pledge, as it was called, reads as follows:—
“I do hereby solemnly affirm that, with the help of God, I will wholly abstain from the voluntary use, as a beverage, or in any equivalent manner, of alcohol, tea, and coffee, and from the use of tobacco, opium, and all other narcotics and stimulants.”
Would it not please God if our churches throughout the length and breadth of the land would arouse to the light God has given, and call special attention to this work, making it a living issue in each church? During the coming winter a live temperance meeting could be held once a month or once in two weeks. Invite all the neighborhood, and let them know it is to be a temperance meeting: not a meeting to discuss the Sabbath or kindred truths, but a meeting to which you invite all, young and old, to come and unite with you in trying to stay the dread curse of intemperance.
Children of Seventh-day Adventists are not safe. The demon of drink is upon their track. He is no respecter of persons; he is just as well pleased to see sons of Sabbath-keepers staggering home drunk as to see the sons of the world doing so. There are faithful Sabbath-keeping fathers and mothers to-day whose hearts are crushed by the fact that their sons have been entrapped by the demon of drink. God would have the little ones warned against it. He has said, “Look not thou upon the wine when it is red, when it giveth his color in the cup, when it moveth itself aright.” “At the last it biteth like a serpent, and stingeth like an adder.”
God compares the work of the wine to the bite of a serpent and the sting of the adder. Fathers and mothers, you who live out in the country where the serpent and the adder lurk in the grass, how soon do you begin to warn your little one of their deadly bite? Do you wait until your child is grown up, and then say: My son, take heed when you come into the high grass; for the deadly adder lurks there? My childhood was spent upon a farm where the rattlesnake and the deadly adder were found, and my earliest recollection is of my father warning me against the snake and the adder in the grass. God has compared the deadly work of the fermented wine to the bite of the serpent and the sting of the adder, so that you could teach your little ones to hate the drink and shun it, just as you would teach them to shun the snake.
Below we give a programme for a temperance meeting. It may help some in planning temperance meetings. The different parts can be assigned to different members of your company:—
Song: “Launch the Life-Boat” ............ No. 1384
Prayer.
Song: “Sound the Battle Cry” ............ No. 1379
Bible Reading, twenty minutes: Fermented and Unfermented Wine.
Address, fifteen minutes: Will It Pay Financially to Be a Drunkard? Prov. 21: 17; 28: 21.
Address, fifteen minutes: Effect of Alcohol upon the Stomach and Food. “Home Hand Book,” pages 463-470.
A Talk, ten minutes: Earnest appeal, giving summary of points made by others, followed by presentation of Anti-Whisky Pledge.
Song: Yield Not to Temptation ............ No. 1382
Prayer.
Let the speakers be brief and to the point, keeping within the allotted time.
“LOOK ON THE FIELDS.”
By Estella Houser
ESTELLA HOUSER.
The supreme duty of the church to-day is to carry the last message of mercy to earth’s remotest bounds. The Lord’s work is to receive our first consideration. Our time, our talents, our energies,—indeed, our entire being,—are to be devoted to this one object—the proclamation of the gospel of the kingdom to all the world. No one can put his hand to this work without personal blessing, and no one can neglect it without serious spiritual loss.
Nothing, outside of actively engaging in the work itself, so expands the heart, enlarges the sympathies, and develops a Christlike charity, as a thorough and prayerful study of God’s world-wide work.
The command from the throne is: “Lift up your eyes, and look on the fields; for they are white already to harvest. And he that reapeth receiveth wages, and gathereth fruit unto life eternal: that both he that soweth and he that reapeth may rejoice together.”
Every communication from the laborers who stand at the front in giving this message to the world, demonstrates the verity of God’s promise. “He that reapeth . . . gathereth fruit unto life eternal;” and in the great reckoning, all who have borne a part in this work, either in sowing or in reaping, will rejoice together.
A brief look at a few of the fields already entered by the Third Angel’s Message will illustrate what may be seen in any field if studied.
But a few years ago not a single representative of the Third Angel’s Message had entered Japan. To-day, although we have but one church, there are interested persons in many parts of the empire. This interest has been developed by the Japanese paper, Owari No Fukuin (The Gospel for the Last Days), which our laborers have published at their own expense, and circulated as widely as their means would permit. As a result, they have more calls for help than the present corps of workers can answer.
At Nagasaki, in the extreme southeastern part of Japan, five have recently taken their stand for the truth, and several are investigating its merits. This interest was first created by a lady physician who went to Tokio for special work, and while there came in contact with our mission workers, and began to keep the Sabbath, and afterward returned to her home to labor for others. Some of those who have just begun to obey the Lord have been turned out of their homes in consequence, but they evince a firmness and a steadfastness worthy of imitation.
At Wakamatsu, about one hundred and thirty miles directly north of Tokio, a large company became interested through reading the paper. A native minister wrote to Tokio for a laborer, but when it was learned that he taught the observance of the Sabbath, the church that had been offered was refused unless he would promise to say nothing about the Sabbath. On the other hand, homes were opened, and several persons are eagerly studying the word of God. One or two have already taken their stand on the Lord’s side.
Through the dissemination of our literature, the message is going to all parts of Japan, for which we thank the Lord. But where are the reapers to follow the printed page? In this empire of forty-three million eight hundred thousand persons—a population equal to more than half that of the United States—we have just ten workers. Japan is indeed a field “white already to harvest.”
At both our mission stations in South Central Africa the Lord has especially set his seal to the work. The spirit of devotion and sacrifice manifested by the young men who have been converted there during the last eighteen months is indeed inspiring. Their highest ambition seems to be to fit themselves to become laborers among their own people. Many of them are doing more to give the gospel to the heathen about them than are we who enjoy all the blessings and privileges of an enlightened land.
Two of the young men from the home station have recently opened a school in one of the neighboring kraals, to be conducted in the afternoon. We await with interest the development of their work.
From Kupavula the laborers write that if we could attend their Friday evening prayer and social meeting, we should see that our labor—for their labor is ours—is not in vain in the Lord. The Lord is indeed being magnified among the heathen. There are precious souls in other parts of Matabeleland, and of Africa as well, who would rejoice in the present truth were it carried to them. Other stations should be opened. But this can not be done without additional help.
In the islands of the Pacific thus far entered, the message is advancing steadily. While the Sabbath-keepers in the Cook Islands have been persecuted because of their fidelity to God’s law, they have grown more firm, and the persecution has really led others to appeal for help, that they, too, might be taught the way of life more perfectly. Several months ago at Titikaveka a company of more than twenty-five persons came out in a body, obeying the little truth they had, and earnestly pleading for a teacher. As yet no one has been provided—our laborers visiting them as often as their time will permit.
From the Fiji Islands the same report of blessing and progress is received. Elder Fulton, with his family, has recently made a tour of the islands, in the missionary boat “Cina.” They distributed a large quantity of tracts and papers. There is general poverty among the natives; and while they are anxious to read, few can buy reading-matter. Some Fijian tracts have recently been published at Cooranbong. The amount of such work which can be done is limited only by our resources. In the majority of the islands there is no religious literature, and many persons gladly receive anything that will enable them better to understand the word of God.
And so we might continue. The blessing of the Lord is with his ambassadors. Souls once in the darkness of heathenism rejoice in the light of present truth, and bear their part in giving it to others. A look at every field brings the same facts to view. Where we are preaching the gospel, progress is being made; but almost invariably with the report of progress comes an appeal for additional workers. Shall we not pray the Lord of the harvest that he will send forth laborers into his harvest?
We have not yet fully appreciated the interdependence of the work in the home land and the work abroad. We have certainly reached the hour when a broader and more far-reaching missionary spirit than has yet characterized this denomination should take possession of us. God has placed in our power the means to bring this about. “Look on the fields.” “Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth laborers into his harvest.” Prayer and missions are closely interwoven. As we study the field, we can pray intelligently. If this is done, those whom God would have go will know it by a definite call, and others will be just as clear that their duty is to sustain the work and the workers.
We praise God to-day that the interest in foreign missions is growing; that in the home field broader plans are being laid to support this work. Long enough have the forces of evil delayed the coming of our Lord. We can hasten it only by carrying this message to all the nations of the world. We can do it by our prayers, by our offerings, and by using our influence to encourage others to bear some part. Such efforts will not be without their results, even in our own experiences. It is the ordinance of God that his people in watering shall be watered, in blessing shall be blessed, and in exercising their gifts shall increase them.
NOVEMBER STUDY OF THE FIELD.
Articles for Study in the November Missionary Magazine: Buddhism in China; In the Country of Russia; Landmarks in Argentine History; Among Our Churches in Argentina.
(November 4-10)
1. How is the birth of Christ associated with the establishment of Confucianism and the introduction of Buddhism in the Chinese Empire? What part of the legend pertaining to the birth of Christ is true?
2. State the principal difference between the Buddhism of China and that of India.
3. In what way has Buddhism been affected by contact with Christianity?
4. What can you say of the Buddhist temples and their worship? Describe the priests.
5. Relate an incident showing the self-denial and faithfulness manifested by the Buddhist in fulfilling his vows.
6. Under what circumstances do the men of China most devoutly engage in religious worship? Give an illustration.
7. Show that the Chinese government in the past has been quite largely tolerant to all forms of religion. What significance can you see in this fact compared with the conditions that exist to-day?
8. Mention one practical lesson which you have learned from the study of the religions of China.
9. What can you say of Russia’s grain products? Of her horses?
10. Give some comparisons showing that Russia is in fact an agricultural country.
11. Describe the Russian villages. The homes.
12. Give briefly the history of Argentina under Rosas.
13. What evils did this rule beget among the people?
14. How successful was Sarmiento in his attempt to pattern the government after that of the United States?
15. What effect has the prevailing religion of Argentina had upon the people?
16. Of what nationality is the Seventh-day Adventist church of Cordova composed?
17. Tell briefly how the blessing of the Lord was manifested during the recent meetings held at this place and at Ripamonte.
18. Relate the experience that led to a special manifestation of the Lord’s care for his people. How did their faithfulness in adversity bear fruit?
19. Describe the interest of the natives and of the Jews as the Third Angel’s Message is presented to them.